La Villa Eugénie

This palatial restaurant is located in the majestic Hôtel du Palais, in which luxury and good views are revered, with the best panorama over the Cantabrian Sea in Biarritz. The kitchen is in the hands of Jean-Marie Gautier, a very experienced, high-class chef befitting his surroundings. His elegance and the harmony he projects with his flavors stand out above all else. Delicacy and refinement can be tasted and savored. His culture is also evident in his dish composition—they are doctoral, academic, very well thought out and executed, rich in elements; traditional in identity with hints of modernity. In short, refined, effective, high-class haute cuisine that succeeds without inspiring exclamations of admiration.

The best shellfish cream you can imagine and taste has spider crab as its main ingredient, giving strength and finesse to the broth; reinforced by a cream of mushroom perfumed with fennel and tarragon, it is a masterful reinvention of lobster bisque. Raw materials, technique, academics…all of this and more are represented in the duck foie gras, poached in beef stock with seasonal fruit marmalade and Jurançon. The impeccable red mullet filets, golden and juicy, are served with sautéed baby squid, risotto and a black sauce intelligently positioned on the plate without covering the ingredients, giving the recipe greater gustative and chromatic purity. The great meat dishes have the importance of the cuts and their perfect doneness in common. The squab is exceptional—plump, buttery, extremely flavorful, bloody—served with foie gras, French-style peas, potatoes and its jus. We can say the same about the Challans canette and the Pyrenees suckling lamb, wonderful specimens knowledgably prepared and conventionally adorned. The veal sweetbreads, served in a clay pot with morels and asparagus, are superb for the same reasons. We can also fully recommend the foie gras with Banyuls wine and rhubarb and apple compote. In short, a valuable and controlled pleasure—politically correct.

The assortment of cheeses, from Mille et un Fromages, a Biarritz specialty shop, offers marvelous examples, such as goat cheeses Pouligny Saint-Pierre and Cabécou.

Jean-Marie Gautier is considered in France to be an excellent pastry chef with memorable chocolate desserts. Remember to try the baked spiced pineapple with cookie, coconut and vanilla ice cream; the caramel and chocolate royale with apricots confit and milk confiture ice cream; and the baba au rhum with exotic fruit nage and four flower sorbet.